Ginger Snaps
by Pandamore
Summary: Ginger Hale has no one left, most of her family died in a fire and the ones who didn't are all broken. She soon is sent to live with her godfather in Washington. But Ginger will soon learn she can't run from her old life because for the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack and Ginger needs a pack whether they are werewolves or wolf shifters.
1. Chapter 1

Eight years ago Ginger Hale lost everything. Her cousin betrayed his family by telling Kate Argent what their family was. It was Kate Argent and her father that burned Ginger's childhood home. It was The Argents they burned every one of Ginger's family alive. The only ones who weren't in the fire were her cousin, the one who betrayed them, and his sister. Ginger and her father were the only survivors, but Peter Hale has been in a coma ever since the fire.

Ginger hasn't truly healed from the fire. She still wears the burns from the fire over her back and on her arms, from her wrists to her elbows, and she still has nightmares of the day of the fire. She lived with Derek and Laura, her cousins who weren't in the fire, and neither of them truly knew what Ginger had went through. Laura and Derek lost everything, but they could move on, they didn't have the memories or burns that Ginger must carry for her entire life.

Before the fire, when Ginger was just a little girl, her father would take her to Forks to visit his old friend, Charlie Swan. Charlie and Ginger's father had met when her father went to college near Forks. It was because of Charlie that Ginger's father met her mother. Charlie was Ginger's godfather and in every way like an uncle.

When Ginger called him after the long time has passed Charlie was more than happy to allow her to move in with him. Moving away from the only she had left and moving in with Charlie has been a difficult choice, but it has been one that she had to make.

If there was anything Ginger hated it was flying. Plane crashes aren't a common thing, but the fear is enough to almost always keep her off the crazy dangerous things. Unfortunately Ginger had no choice but to get on a plane and fly to Washington, so here was Ginger, sitting in a plane seat, praying she wouldn't die. "We will be starting to take our descendant." Ginger took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes, praying that the plane doesn't crash.

"Deep breaths, Ginger. Deep breaths." She breathes as the plane begins to lower and lower, Ginger's ears popped as the plane goes lower, but she simply closes her eyes and keep repeating hopeful words into her mind.

The lights came back on and the tire slid against the pathway. As soon as the seat belt light comes off Ginger grabs her carry on, which was simply her backpack, and hurries off the plane. Only once she is off the plane can she breath again. She makes her way to baggage claim and grabs her green suitcases. She had a dragging suitcase and a duffle bag suitcase style. She grabs the two bags and heads for the exit. Charlie was picking her up, Bella was flying down today. Bella is Charlie's daughter. Charlie and Bella's mother got a divorce many years ago and Bella spent most of her life living with her mother. It has been years since Charlie has last saw his daughter and she was now coming to live with him. Ginger never really met Bella, due to her living most of her life in Phoenix. Ginger is actually looking forward to meeting Bella, she misses Laura and her sisterly attitude towards Ginger. Ginger hopes Bella and her can hit off, maybe become close like Laura and Ginger had been.

The thing Ginger loves most about Forks is that it has the same weather as Beacon Hills, the place where she was born and raised for her first 8 years of life. She loves Beacon Hills, but memories in her hometown are not ones she wants to remember. Forks is a promise of a fresh start over. When Ginger walked out of the airport the chilly air hit her like a blast of wind. She was smart enough to dress in a a grey warm zip up under her leather jacket, she also had a warm grey beanie on her head, her usual matching fingerless gloves, the ones that went past her elbows to cover her burns, and she has her boots on with warm socks, her dark jeans covering the black boots.

Ginger found Charlie right away, he was the sheriff of Forks, so his car was his police cruiser, it wasn't hard to miss it. She saw Charlie standing talking to a dark haired girl. The girl was thin and frail, her brown hair was dull and held a bit of a curl to it. She looked pale, almost sickly pale. Ginger was determined to make friends with her, she straightened her back and walked confidently over. "Hi, Charlie." Charlie eyes widen as he saw Ginger. Ginger hasn't seen Charlie since she was a little girl and she has changed a lot. Her eyes were still a startling blue, the same eyes that belong to her father. Her hair was blood red and now fell to her mid back. She has grown tall and skinny, having curves in all the right places. Ginger is very beautiful, just like her mother.

"Ginger." Charlie smiles. "You have grown so beautiful." He says before taking her into his arms. Ginger smiles and wraps her arms around him and taking a deep calming breath. Since the fire she has felt as if she wasn't able to breath, but now being in Charlie's arms she feels a calmness that only her father ever managed to give her.

"I missed you so much, Charlie." Ginger says as she pulls away from Charlie.

"I missed you too Gin." Bella clears her throat causing her father and Ginger to look at her. "Right, this is my daughter, Bella. Bella this my goddaughter, Ginger Hale, that I told you about." Bella smiled, but Ginger could see it was fake. She could tell that it didn't hold any warmth or happiness, but instead held anger and a hint of anger. Ginger figures it might just be because of how close Ginger and Charlie are, so Ginger decides to step back from Charlie and smile at Bella.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Bella nods.

"You too." Her voice was the same as her smile, but Ginger decides to give Bella her space.

"Right, so are we going to head to your home, Charlie." Charlie nods, unaware of his daughter's feels as he opens the passenger door. Ginger smiles and goes and take a seat in the back, allowing Bella to sit up front with her father. "So, Bella how old are you now?" Ginger asks as Charlie starts the car.

"17." She says sharply.

"I'm 16, I'll be 17 soon. I'm in my sophomore year." Ginger tells her. "So what was like Arizona like."

"Hot."

"That sounds nice. I'm originally from Beacon Hills, California and the weather there is a lot like here. This place reminds me of home." Ginger smiles, remembering the good memories of Beacon Hills, before the fire.

"I got a headache starting, can we just continue in silence?" Ginger falls silent as she looks at Bella.

"Sure." Ginger says quietly and her eyes goes to window. The car falls silent as the drove through the streets. The silence is stiff and tense, awkward. As Charlie stops at a stoplight in town, and he looks at Bella.

"You're hair's longer." Charlie says, breaking the silence. Bella looks down at her and frowns.

"Hmm... I cut it since the last time I saw you." She says, which was rather rude in Ginger's mind.

"Oh. Guess it grew out again." Charlie says as he shifts in his spot. Silence fills the car again and Ginger shifts awkwardly in her seat.

"So, Charlie how have work been?" She asks, causing him to look back at her.

"Good. What about school for you?" Ginger frowns and rubs her burned flesh.

"Hard." Charlie frowns and once again the car falls silent.

"I'm sorry. It must have been hard. Laura tells me you are still having nightmares." Ginger nods and look out at the passing cars.

"Yes." She says quietly.

"Did the doctors give you any medicine?" He asks, but Ginger sighs.

"Yes, but it doesn't work. It runs out of my system to fast. I'm hoping for just a fresh start here." Charlie nods in understanding.

"No more questions from me." Charlie says, causing Ginger to smile.

"Thanks Charlie, for everything."

"Of course, Ginger, you're my goddaughter, anything for you." With that Charlie falls silent once more. He pulls into the driveway of his home and everyone gets out. Charlie helps Bella with her things, but Ginger takes her things on her own and head into the house.

"I cleared some shelves off in the bathroom, for you girls." Charlie tells them.

"Oh, right one bathroom." Ginger frowns and turns to Charlie.

"I'm fine with that. I'm not really the type to take long in the bathroom." She tells him. "Do I still have the bedroom I have when I stay here?" Ginger asks, causing Charlie to nod.

"Yes, I changed a few things for you, but kept it mostly the same." Ginger smiles as she walks into her bedroom, which was right across Bella's. Her room was painted as if it was the woods, the carpet was a forest pattern. Her bed was a canopy bed, the bed posts were like logs with a deep green forest curtain surrounding the bed. The sheets were a matching green, while the furniture around the room all had the same natural woodsy making.

Ginger walks to her closet and begins to hang her clothes up. As she finishes Charlie walks in. "You still like it?"

"I love it." She smiles and looks at Charlie. "You know I love the woods and this is the best you can ever do for me when it comes to my room." She tells him before going to her dresser and putting her pjs and delicates in there. She places her extra shoes at the floor of her closet.

"You all set? Need any more help with packing?"

"No, I got it, but thanks Charlie." He nods and gives her a smile before leaving her the room. When she finishes unpacking her clothes and shoes she goes and puts her suitcase and duffel bag in her closet. She places her backpack by her desk and places her reading material on its bookshelf. She places her laptop on her desk and she then heads out of her room once more.

Ginger walks out in time to see a truck pulling into the driveway. It honks and seconds later Charlie walks out of the house. "Ginger this is my good friend Billy Black and his son Jacob." Charlie says as he places a hand on her back and leads her over to them. "Billy, Jacob, this is my goddaughter Ginger Hale, she'll be staying with me for awhile."

"Right, you were telling me about her." Billy says as he smiles.

"It's great to meet you." Billy tells Ginger.

"You too Mr. Black." Billy chuckles.

"Please, no need to formalities, call me Billy." Ginger smiles and shakes his hand.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Billy and you too Jacob." Jacob smiles and shakes her hand too. Soon Bella comes out of the house and walks over.

"Bella, you remember Billy Black." Charlie says as he leans against the truck.

"Yeah. Wow, you're looking good." Bella says, forcing a smile as she shakes Billy's hand.

"Well, I'm still dancing." Ginger smiles and leans against Charlie some as she leans on the truck also. "Well, I'm glad you both are finally here. Charlie hasn't shut up about it since you both told him you were coming." Ginger giggles, while Jacob smiles.

"Alright, keep exaggerating. I'll roll you into the mud."

"After I ram you in the ankles." Billy turns and starts towards Charlie, the two dancing around and pretending to fight. Ginger smiles before looking at Charlie.

"Hey, Charlie, since you're busy having fun with your buddy, would you mind if I walk around and get a sense of the place." Charlie smiles.

"As long as you're back before dark." Charlie tells her before dodging an attack from Billy. Ginger giggles before nodding.

Ginger heads down the road, deciding she wants to take a nice walk. The town is very nice, small and quaint like Beacon Hills had been like before the fire. Ginger rubs her hand over her burned arm. She has so many different gloves for different seasons and occasions just so that her arms always covered. She hated the memories the burns brought her, the nightmares, the insecurities. Ginger didn't want to have these burns, but there was nothing she could really do about it.

She walks for a quite awhile, just trying to get herself used to the town. It didn't take her long to find the La Push Reservation sign. She normally would never go on a place such as this without permission, but something in her told she had to. It was as if her wolf was slowly telling that she needed to be on the reservation. For what she didn't know.

So despite her mind telling her to turn back, she followed her wolf's orders and headed into the reservation. She didn't know where she was going or what she was looking for, but she simply followed where her wolf wanted her to go.

Soon she came to a beach. It had no body on it except for four people, three guys and a girl. The waves crashed against a large rock and the smell of the ocean air hit her like a slap to the face. She took a deep breath of the ocean air in and let out a sigh escape her lips, a smile grace her lips. Beacon Hills was great, but it never had an ocean. You had to drive three towns over in order to go to a beach and it was always so crowded and crazy.

"You know this beach is for the reservation only right? The public beach is down there." Ginger opens her eyes and looked over to see one of the guys now standing before her. He had light brown hair and honey brown eyes. He was tall and thin, but had a muscular frame. He was dressed in only brown cargo pants, brown sneakers, and a grey zip up sweatshirt that had no sleeves. When Ginger's blue eyes met the boy's brown ones time itself stopped.

Everything around them just seemed to blur out until the two of them saw nothing but each other. Only one word could express what they were feeling, love.


	2. Chapter 2

Ginger stood there frozen. She had dreamed of this moment ever since she was a little girl. All werewolves are entitled to having a mate, one person they are meant to be with forever, lose your mate and you'll never get another. Having a mate isn't just amazing, but also spiritual. To be connected to another so strongly, to feel their emotions, read their thoughts, to project your own thoughts into their minds. It's an incredible thing and Ginger had wanted to find her mate for so long and here he is. This boy who stared at her with so much love and happiness was the man that she was meant to be with for her entire life.

The moment between them was broken, however as the sound of cars drive past the beach, teenagers screaming and yelling. Ginger pulls her eyes away from the boy to see a bunch of cars heading down the road. "They're heading to the public beach, La Push." The boy says. "Anyone can go to it, but this one is for the people who live on the reservation." Ginger looks back at the boy and gives a timid smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know. I'll just go then-" She says, feel sadness clench her heart as she realizes her mate does not wish for her to be here.

"You can stay if you want." The boy says quickly. "I don't mind and I'm sure my friends wouldn't either." He says before he realizes he never even introduced himself yet. "Right, I'm Jared by the way." He says giving her a crooked smile. It causes a smile to form on Ginger's own lips and she holds out her hand.

"I'm Ginger Hale." She expects him to shake her hand and say 'it's great to meet you', but instead he takes her hand in his and kisses the top of it, the part that was not covered by her glove, and it cause her to blush.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She nearly melts when he says this. His voice is like the ocean, smooth and rough at the same time, deep and shallow all in the same.

"Y-You too." She stuttered out nervously. She hated to be nervous or embarrassed, a Hale is never either, but this boy seems to bring out a side that Ginger never knew existed.

"Come on." Jared smiles, taking her hand in his, sending goosebumps and heat running up her arm all at the same time. Jared lead her over to where the other two guys and the girls were sitting. The oldest of the guys had the most muscles and had darker hair and eyes, while the other guy was very muscular, but just not as muscular. The girl sat between the legs of the oldest one and she was absolutely beautiful. Long black hair, dark brown eyes, and honey tan skin. The only defect of this beautiful woman was the long scars that ran down one half of her face, but Ginger knew better than to stare. She knew what it was like to have someone see your wound and never stop asking questions. At least Ginger can cover her scars without it being too obvious. "Hey guys this is Ginger." Jared says to his friends and the young woman smiled up at Ginger, all to happy to have another girl in this group of friends.

"I'm Emily." She says with a smile. "This is my boyfriend, Sam, and that's Paul."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Ginger says with a smile. Jared takes a seat beside Sam and Emily, anyone could see Jared and Sam were very close friend, while Paul distance himself more from them. Jared glances at Ginger and mentions the spot beside him.

"You know you can sit, right Ging." Jared says with a smile, causing a slight blush to form on her cheeks. She goes and takes a seat beside Jared, nervously playing with the ends of her gloves, a nervous habit she picked up after the fire.

"So Ginger you from around here?" Emily asks, causing Ginger to look over at her.

"I move around a lot, but I just recently moved in with my godfather." She answers her.

"So where are you originally from?" Sam asks as he plays with Emily's hair.

"California." I say, causing Jared to glance at me.

"This must be a big change then, all sun to all clouds." Ginger laughs and shakes her head.

"Not the part I am from. I'm from a small town called Beacon Hills, the weather is a lot like this actually. Not that sunny."

"You're a bit pale for sunny anyways." Paul grumbles, causing Ginger to nod.

"Yeah, well red hair and sun does not go good together, so I much prefer this weather." She tells him. She could tell Paul tries acting tough, in away he reminds her of her cousin Derek, hurt so much in the past that he built a strong wall around himself.

"Red heads also are snappy." Emily says with a teasing smile.

"Mmm, doesn't help that I come from a family of hotheads and sarcasm." This got them all to laugh, even Paul.

"I like a girl with fire." Jared whispers in Ginger's ear, causing her to blush slightly once more. Emily looked at her knowing before faking a rather dramatic yawn.

"I'm getting tired, maybe we should head back, huh, Sam." She says, causing Sam to look at her confused.

"What? We only got here-" Sam starts to say, not getting Emily's obvious point.

"Sam. I'm tired, how about we go." She says before making a rather obvious pointed look at Jared and Ginger. it seemed to finally click in Sam's head as he nod.

"Oh, uh, right sure." He says as he gets to his feet. Paul rolls his eyes, but he knows that he should give the two of them space.

"I'm going to head home too." He says, causing Ginger and Jared to look over at them. Jared was more than okay to be alone with Ginger, so he simply nods.

"Sure thing, guys. I'll see you later." Emily smiles at Jared as Paul simply nods and Sam gives Jared a meaningful look before the three leave Jared and Ginger alone.

"So, Ginger you thinking of staying in our sleepy little town long?" He asks, causing her to look at him.

"Yeah, I think I am." He smiles as she said that.

"Great, so that means I don't have to worry about giving you my number and asking you out of on a date." He says as he pulls a pen out from his pocket. Ginger bites back a smile as she looks at Jared.

"Carry a random pen with you all the time?" She asks.

"Never know when a pretty girl will show up." He replies as he uncaps his pen.

"Oh, so you just wait for random girls, so you can give them your number?"

"Only cute redheads such as yourself, but around here there's very few redheads." He says as he pushes her red hair off her shoulder.

"Bit forward, huh?" Jared chuckled.

"Maybe, but it seems to be working, so..." She smiles before he takes her hand in his and tries to take the glove off, she pulls her hand away, causing him to look up at her confused. "Or... not."

"No, I don't mind having your number, but I don't like taking my gloves off." She says looking at him a bit embarrassed.

"Well, where do you want me to write my number, huh?" He asks with a comforting smile on his lips. She frowns for a moment before taking her thumb out of the hole of her glove and rolling the glove back enough so her hand is uncovered.

"Is this okay?" He nods before taking her hand once more and scribbling his number down on her hand.

"There." He smiles. "Now about that date... You free this weekend?" He asks, causing her to smile.

"Don't see why I wouldn't be." He chuckled.

"Good. It's getting kind of late, it'll be dark soon. Do you want me to drive you home?" He asks as he stands up and helps her up from the ground.

"Sure, thanks Jared." She takes his extended hand and allows him to pull her up, but neither let go of the other's hand once they begin walking to his truck that is parked in the parking lot. Jared opens the car door for Ginger like a gentleman, causing her to smile. "Thanks." She hopes into the truck and he closes the door after her before going to his side and hoping in.

"So, where do you live?" Ginger glances over at him.

"Do you know where sheriff Swan lives?" She asks.

"Yeah, he's a friend of Billy Black's."

"Yeah, he's my godfather."

"Really?" Ginger nods as Jared starts the car and heads down the road. "Cool, so you got a cop for your godfather... I don't have to worry about getting threatened with a gun when I go out with you, do I?" Ginger laughs before shaking her head.

"Nah. You have nothing to worry about." He shakes his head as he looks at her before turning the truck onto another road. The two drive in a peaceful silence, one free from awkwardness and nervousness.

It only takes a few minutes before Jared stops in front of Ginger's driveway. "Thanks, for the ride, Jared."

"No problem. I'll see you around Ging." Ginger smiles at him before she opens her car down and gets out of the car.

"Bye Jared." he waves bye before she closes the truck door and heads up to her house. When she walks inside Charlie and Bella are waiting for her.

"Whose the guy?" Charlie asks, causing a faint blush to creep onto her cheeks.

"A guy I met. He lives on the reservation, knows Billy."

"I'll have to ask Billy about him then, make sure he's good enough for my goddaughter." Ginger smiles at him, kissing his cheek before heading to the stairs.

"I'm going to turn in early, I'm exhausted." She tells him before heading up the stairs and getting ready for bed.


End file.
